Wall Street continued its rally on Friday with record closing highs as the fourth-quarter earnings season kicked off with solid results from banks and robust retail sales drove investor optimism about economic growth.

China continues to gobble up the world's commodities, setting new records for consumption of everything from crude oil to soybeans.

Australian shares ended with slight gains on Friday but lost ground over the week, with an advance in the mining sector not enough to offset weakness elsewhere.

The Australian dollar is headed back toward a near four-month high after signs consumers may not be as downbeat as thought.

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The night belongs to the bond bulls, who have had a rough ride of it of late, with cries that the 30-year bull market is over.

Two US lawmakers are calling for an investigation into whether Intel's CEO, Brian Krzanich, improperly sold company stock after learning of a serious security flaw in the tech giants' microchips but before it was publicly disclosed.